Ini Edo Is A Gangster!

There’re lots of Nollywood movies that don’t bite on anything, but boy I tell you, this is a bomb and stands out as a classic productions. I always observe in my line of reviewing films that, not the story, the actors, the set, the camera and locations put together are  enough but the director is the one who always give a film its distinctive look. With so many films to his credit, I give director, Mac Collins Chidebe, kudos for this remarkable production.

“Secret Fantasy, is a story about Eric (Pat Attah) who’s about to get married in a couple of months but happens to wave hello to a woman sunning just next to him at an open field, as he romances his fiance, Anna ( Uche Jombo). The woman he waves to, turns into fantasy for him and follows him in his dream. He wakes up every night crying out loud, “Helen! Helen!” As he dreams romancing Helen, so he follows his dream of making love to her in actual life. Not long, he runs into her.

Meanwhile, an eighty million naira caper at the beginning of the film is almost successful cashing in at the bank, but has a glitch. The owner of the account whose voice confirmation is needed before cashing in has been murdered, and the bank holds the check. The gang could not accept but invents ways and means to get hold of the money, and there enters Helen into the picture (there are always girls in caper films) and there enter enemy soldiers into the city of Troy and set it afire. Eric been so much in love with Helen/Kate, falls for a ploy that gets him in contact with the gang leader, who blackmails him into going to present a dead man’s initialed check to the bank. Eric’s arrested, and finds out it is all set up and even catches Kate romancing with the gangster who she says is her step-brother.

One thing I admire about this film is the plot structure. Interchangeably, I can refer to the plot involving Eric and his fiancé, Anna as the main plot and the plot involving Helen (Ini Edo) and her gang of thieves as sub-plot, or vice versa. Even as the caper plot plays important tool in making this story a well-rounded entertainment piece,  what bothers me is the thirty-five minutes or so, of screen absence of the gangsters. But come to think of it their absence is replaced by Helen/Kate in every frame. However, I do feel a little bit manipulated when the screenwriter applied devices in the story to make one cry, but he does apply economy of scale in tickling my emotions, by doing so sparingly and honestly.

Mise-en-scene is a film language meaning, the aura of staging, setting, and scenery that all help to convey the reality of film, and this goes as well for the characters. When we choose a 150lbs character in film and put him in a boxing ring against a 300 lbs gorilla, we are obviously tickling the audience for laughter and not reality. The gargantuan nature of Eric, used in this film, and his capture by the gangsters does not make him realistic for the lead role. All along, I expect this Rambo to fight his way back on to the street. Film is make-believe. Eric’s being a in a lead role in this film gives viewers expectations of a big show down with the gang of thieves and Helen/Kate.  Since the resolution of the film ends otherwise, I feel cheated.

Like in most intimate films, the morale of this film is the exploration of the complexity of human relation. In life if you don’t use your intuition, you pay tuition. Eric pays a costly tuition.

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